Five more Burkinabes deported

Five Burkinabes who entered Ghana illegally through unapproved route have been arrested and deported.

The five were arrested by a group of Immigration Officials on duty at Beat 2 unapproved route bordering neighbouring Burkina Faso near Hamile on Friday.

The men between the ages of 15 and 27 were seized on motorbikes with registration numbers 32-UJ-6586 and 32-JW-5633.

This brings the number of irregular migrants who have been arrested and repatriated after using unapproved routes during the border closure to 177.

The closure of the border is part of efforts to prevent the importation of COVID-19 into Ghana.

Meanwhile, some Ghanaians abroad are calling for the borders to be opened to enable them return as the closure is impacting negatively on their survival.

According to the Public Affairs officer of the Ghana Immigration Service in the Upper West Region, Ibn Yussif Duranah Abdul-Mumin Seidu, preliminary investigations revealed that the five arrested on Friday were destined for Kumasi and Techiman respectively for farming purposes.

The irregular migrants were screened by the port health personnel before being handed over to the Burkina Faso authorities on the other side of the border at about 3:30pm.